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Chemistry and Cleaning
Chemistry applies everywhere, especially in cleaning. Have you ever wondered how a cup of detergent cleans soiled jeans, towels, socks, and other articles in your wash, or how cleaning fluid at the dry cleaner whisks away that grease stain from your suit? And why are hair spray,vinegar, club soda, and baking soda surprisingly effective dirt and stain removers in an emergency? The answers lie both in the chemical properties of various types of dirt and stains and in the ways that the cleaning agents chemically interact with them. Dirt and stains typically consist of particles, such as minerals from soil, protein and other organic matter from living things, or bits of black carbon. The particles are trapped on cloth fibers by grease and oil, which cannot be dissolved in water. Anything that can loosen the grease and oil from the fibers and disperse (scatter) these substances in the wash water or dry-cleaning solution will remove the dirt and stains. If you're like everyone, you like to eat off of clean dishes, prepare food on a clean surface, and use clean restroom facilities. Taking the cleaning of any of these areas into your own hands requires a little chemical knowledge. Have you ever scrubbed away at some grease or oil that just won't come out? That's because we are used to most of the "gunk" that we clean up being a polar substance. Water is also a polar substance, and since like dissolves like, most polar substances dissolve easily in water. However, when we introduce water to big greasy hydrocarbon chains (usually called alkanes, or fats and oils as we know them), the water just slides right over them and our plate stays greasy. This is because fats, oils, and waxes are nonpolar substances. If instead of using water we used less polar mineral spirits (not recommended on food prep items), those greasy alkanes would be dissolved in no time. Types of cleaners The basic selection of what cleaner to use is primarily a determination based upon the soil to be removed and the surface from which the soil must be removed. The three basic types of cleaners (acids, alkalis, and solvents) are designed to work primarily on certain soils and upon certain surfaces. SOIL Choosing the right cleaner begins by analyzing, the soil and matching it to the cleaner best designed to remove it. Some of the common forms of soil best removed by one of the basic cleaners are as follows: #'Acids' mineral deposits, such as: iron, lime buildup, uric acid stains, rust, scale, water spots, soap deposits #'Alkalis' most common forms of soil including dirt, soot, fats, cooking oils, food stains, baked on grease #'Solvents' heavy grease and oil including machine grease, engine oils, sludge, paint and varnish #'Neutral' light duty clearing SURFACE Choosing the right cleaner also demands an analysis of the surface to be cleaned. The three basic cleaners are designed on different surface areas. The surfaces commonly cleaned by the basic cleaners are as follows: #'Acids' vitreous chinametal, glass cement, quarry tile, plexiglassglass #'Neutral' all water washablesurfaces, floors coatedwith finish #'Solvents' engines, machine parts, metal, machinery #'Alkalis' resilient flooring metal, porcelain, china, fabrics, formica, vinyl, concrete, quarry tile, removing floor finish films